The Ectoplasmic Struggle
by The One
Summary: As the Ghostbusters are joined by new recruits, evil doings creep out from the shadows...
1. Default Chapter

"Look out below!" yells Peter Venkman, from the top of the firepole.  
  
"You do know that we're only meant to use the pole when there's an emergency?" asks Ray Stantz.  
  
Peter arrives at the bottom of the pole and makes his way towards his office.  
  
"This is an emergency, Ray!" Peter explains.  
  
"Oh, is it?" Ray asks, sarcastically.  
  
"Yes, it is!" Peter replies.  
  
"What kind of emergency?"  
  
"I need to cut my toenails!" Peter begins, picking up his nail scissors. "The last time I cut them was about three months ago, why don't you cut them for me?"  
  
Ray doesn't even answer. Peter takes that as a 'no' and begins cutting them himself. Suddenly, the front doors open, and ECTO-1 enters. After screeching to a halt, Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddmore step out.  
  
"Where have you two been?" Ray asks, trying to get the thought of Peter's extremely long toenails out of his head.  
  
Winston holds up the steaming ghost trap.  
  
"Some old lady called us in the middle of the night asking us to rid her basement of a ghost, but it turned out that she was the ghost!" he replies.  
  
"Took us all night to catch her!" Egon says, yawning.  
  
Suddenly, a scream comes from Peter's office. Ray, Winston, and Egon go to investigate and find Peter lying on the ground with blood dripping from his foot.  
  
"What on earth have you done?" asks Winston, trying not to laugh.  
  
"I cut myself with my nail scissors!" Peter replies, rolling about in agony.  
  
"Well, I'm gonna put this ghost in to the containment unit, anybody want to come?" Egon asks, holding up the ghost trap.  
  
"Yes!" Ray and Winston say together, and the three of them go down into the basement.  
  
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"Were you followed?" the man in black asks.  
  
"I don't think so!" the man in white replies, looking around.  
  
"You got the ectoplasm?" the man in black asks, holding out his hand.  
  
"I certainly did!" the man in white replies, taking a small box out of his jacket pocket, then handing it to the man in black.  
  
The man in black opens it up and examines the green goo inside. After a few seconds he closes it and stuffs it into his trouser pocket.  
  
"Well done, Upa!" the man in black says, holding out his hand again.  
  
"Any time." the man in white says, reaching out his hand to shake the man in black's.  
  
When the two hands meet, Upa suddenly feels a stinging feeling in his palm. He pulls his hand away and realizes that there is a dart in it.  
  
"You don't really think I trusted you . did you?" asks the man in black, before pulling out a gun and firing into the darkness.  
  
A few seconds later, a small fat man appears, with his hands over the bullet hole in his chest. Blood is dripping down his front, and it's only a few seconds before he collapses on to the ground.  
  
"You.you'll kill.kill us all!" Upa says, lying on the ground in agony.  
  
"But how can I kill you when you're already dead?" the man in black asks, laughing.  
  
Upa's vision begins to go fuzzy. He is fading into darkness. Disappearing from existence. He can feel his spirit leaving his body. He knows it's all over. He is dead.  
  
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}  
  
"So, how did you do this, Dr. Venkman?" Janine asks, while putting a plaster over the cut on Peter's foot.  
  
"Believe me, you don't want to know?" Peter replies.  
  
"Oh, come on, I could do with a good laugh!" Janine jokes.  
  
Peter suddenly stands up and presses his face against Janine's.  
  
"If you ever need a good laugh, Janine, just watch Ray when he's asleep!" he whispers.  
  
At that moment, Ray appears from down in the basement.  
  
"Hey, Pete, Egon's got some exciting new equipment to show us." he begins, "Want to witness the first test?"  
  
"Sure, Ray, I'll come . want to tag along, Janine?" Peter asks.  
  
Janine doesn't respond. She simply turns around and sits down behind her desk. A few seconds later, Egon and Winston appear from down in the basement.  
  
"Okay, the equipment is ready to test." Egon says, holding up some strange, mechanical gizmo.  
  
The four Ghostbusters then hop into Ecto-1 and speed off. They're so excited, apart from Peter, to be testing the new equipment that they don't even realize they've forgotten their proton packs.  
  
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The librarian sat behind his desk staring at the old man wearing the long, red cloak. He has been looking along the same isle ever since he arrived 20 minutes ago, and has taken a look at every single book. Eventually, the librarian builds up the courage to walk over to him.  
  
"Do you need any help, sir?" the librarian asks.  
  
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." the old man begins, "I'm looking for a big, blue book."  
  
"Does this big, blue book have a name?" the librarian asks.  
  
"Yes, it does." The old man replies  
  
The librarian puts his hand on the old man's shoulder.  
  
"This way, sir." the librarian says.  
  
He then leads the old man to his desk and turns on the computer. A menu comes up with 'New York Public Library' written at the top, right-hand corner.  
  
"Now, what's the name of that book?" the librarian asks.  
  
The old man doesn't respond.  
  
"What's the name of the book, sir?" the librarian asks again.  
  
The old man suddenly slams his arms down on the desk. The librarian looks down at where the man's right hand should be, but instead sees a steel hook.  
  
"Uh . the book's . name, sir?" the librarian asks, shaking.  
  
No response. Instead, his face is slashed open by the hook. The old man then covers the hook with a glove and hides the librarian's body under the desk.  
  
"Now, let's find this book!" the old man says to himself, sitting down in front of the computer.  
  
He clicks on 'Name', then types 'Mairee' into the space provided. A few seconds later, this comes up -  
  
MAIREE#1073896623NON-FICTION  
  
"Found it!" the old man says, standing up.  
  
He walks away from the desk and searches around for the Non-Fiction section. With-in a few seconds he has found it. He moves his finger along the isle until he comes to a very old looking, blue book. He pulls it out, blows the dust off the cover, and opens it up. A strange orange light is emitted from the first page, and then it disappears.  
  
"This is it . THIS IS IT!" the old man yells.  
  
He then looks around at the people who are now staring at him. He slams the book shut and runs towards the exit.  
  
"Uh, sir, excuse me!" the manager shouts out, trying to catch up.  
  
But, before long, the old man is gone.  
  
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Ecto-1 comes to a halt beside a huge field out in the country. The four Ghostbusters step out on to the muddy track they have just come along.  
  
"Uh, Egon, what are we doing here?" Peter asks.  
  
"This is the testing ground!" Egon replies, spreading his arms out.  
  
"Couldn't you have picked somewhere with a nicer smell?" Peter asks, holding his nose.  
  
Ray and Winston open the back of the car and take out the equipment.  
  
"Now, be careful with this stuff, it's rather unstable!" Egon explains.  
  
Ray passes him a new, improved PKE meter.  
  
"We came all the way out here to test a new PKE!?" Peter asks, rather disgusted.  
  
Suddenly, Ray slips on the mud and drops a piece of equipment. A green beam fires out of the end of it and hits Peter's hand, causing it to start growing.  
  
"Well done, Ray, now my left hand is the size of a bowling ball!" Peter complains.  
  
All of a sudden, the PKE starts flashing.  
  
"Woah, should it be doing that?" Winston asks, walking over to Egon.  
  
"Only if there's a ghost in the area!" Egon replies, looking around.  
  
Ray realizes what to do, and goes to get the proton packs out of the car. After opening the back door, he searches around for them.  
  
"Ray?" Peter asks.  
  
"Uh . guys . I think we left the proton packs back at the Firehouse!" Ray replies.  
  
"Oh great! Isn't any of this stuff a new, improved proton?" Peter asks, not expecting a 'yes'.  
  
The four Ghostbusters back up against the car. They all exchange scared looks, then grab whatever piece of equipment is closest. A faint laughter can now be heard, and something starts to appear from the ground.  
  
"Well, guys, get ready!" Ray advises.  
  
Suddenly, a huge flash comes from the field and a small, green ghost appears.  
  
"FIRE!" Egon yells.  
  
Peter presses the trigger on his piece of equipment and evaporates a fence post. An extremely smelly aroma comes out of Ray's. Egon's starts shrinking. And Winston's simply heats up and burns his hands.  
  
"Well, I'd say it's about time we . uh . chickened out!" Peter says, shivering.  
  
A few seconds later, the Ghostbusters are inside Ecto-1 and speeding through the countryside.  
  
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The old man looks up at the sky. A single raindrop splashes on and trickles down his cheek. The book of 'Mairee' is hidden under his cloak, and his steel hook is covered by a glove. Suddenly, he hears a noise. Reacting quickly, he pulls the glove off his hook and sticks it out in front of him. He hears the noise again. It's getting closer. He spins round to see if someone's coming up behind him. After a few seconds, the noise goes away, and the old man covers up his hook again. He then turns round, and is forced back up against the wall by a tall man in black.  
  
"You have the book, give it to me!" the man in black says, sticking a gun into the old man's stomach.  
  
"I have no . have no . what . what book?" the old man asks, shaking.  
  
The man in black takes the gun away from the old man's stomach, then shoots him in the leg. He then slams him up against the wall even harder.  
  
"Give me the book?" the man in black asks again, now aiming the gun at the old man's head.  
  
The old man doesn't respond. Instead, he pulls the glove off his hook and slashes the man in black's hand. Dropping his gun, the man in black pulls a knife out from his jacket pocket and slices the old man's throat. Blood begins pouring down his neck. He falls up against the wall, then slides to the ground and dies.  
  
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}  
  
The doors to the Firehouse open, then Ecto-1 enters and skids to a halt inside. A few seconds later, the Ghostbusters are out of the car and trying their best to stand up on the slippery floor.  
  
"Janine, what's going on here?" Peter asks, holding on to Ray.  
  
Janine appears from behind her desk with a wet, soapy sponge. She has an angry look on her face.  
  
"Spring cleaning?" Winston asks.  
  
"Yeah . in autumn!" Egon responds, sarcastically.  
  
Janine suddenly throws down her sponge as if she's had enough.  
  
"The new recruits are here!" she says, sitting down behind her desk, "I'm sure you'll be glad to meet them . I certainly wasn't!"  
  
All of a sudden, the Ghostbusters hear noises coming from upstairs. Peter makes his way towards the pole and looks up through the hole. He sees nothing.  
  
"Maybe we should go up and get them!" Peter says, making his way towards the stairs.  
  
"LOOK OUT BELOW!" one of them yells suddenly, before sliding down the pole.  
  
"MAKE WAY!" the other shouts out, following shortly after.  
  
After landing at the bottom the two of them stand side-by-side in front of the Ghostbusters. They stay perfectly silent, until Peter asks them their first question.  
  
"What are your names?" Peter asks, marching up and down in front of them.  
  
"Tim Freeman." the blue-eyed one responds.  
  
"Doug Robbins." the green-eyed one replies.  
  
"Where are you from?" Peter asks, still marching up and down.  
  
"England." Tim responds.  
  
"Byron, IL." Doug replies.  
  
"Okay, Peter, I think you can stop questioning them now!" Winston says, stepping out in between them. "Welcome to the Ghostbusters!"  
  
A look of pure excitement comes across Tim and Doug's faces.  
  
"So, when do we go and bust some ass?" Tim asks.  
  
"Well, we have to wait for a call first!" Ray replies.  
  
Tim and Doug's looks of excitement suddenly disappear.  
  
"Oh well . at least we're part of the team now!" Doug says, trying to hide his disappointment.  
  
"What do we do while we wait?" Tim asks.  
  
Peter puts his hand on Tim and Doug's shoulders.  
  
"Follow me!" he says, then leads them both upstairs.  
  
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Dr. Frau is looking out his window at the night sky. The hailstones are starting to cause little cracks in the glass, but that's not what he's worried about. He is waiting for someone . someone who should have arrived ten minutes ago. Just as he starts to think that this someone won't be coming, he hears a knock at the door. He sets down the glass tube he is holding on the window-ledge and answers the door. A man wearing black is standing on his doorstep.  
  
"Ah, Trab, you are finally here!" Dr. Frau says, ushering him in.  
  
Trab walks in and Dr. Frau closes the door behind him.  
  
"May I take your jacket?" Dr. Frau asks, holding out his arms.  
  
"NO!" Trab yells, sitting down on a wooden bench.  
  
Dr. Frau feels slightly alarmed, but then remembers that Trab never takes off his black jacket unless he is alone.  
  
"I have it!" Trab says, as Dr. Frau sits down in front of him.  
  
"May I see it?" Dr. Frau asks.  
  
"Of course!" Trab replies, taking a small box out of his trouser pocket and placing it on the table in front of him.  
  
Dr. Frau opens it up and takes a look at what's inside.  
  
"This . is ectoplasm?" he asks, poking at it with his finger.  
  
"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Trab shouts, pushing Dr. Frau away.  
  
Falling to the ground, Dr. Frau realizes that there is some ectoplasm on his finger. He tries to shake it off but it's stuck.  
  
"You fool!" Trap says, standing up.  
  
He then grabs Dr. Frau by the scruff of the neck and slams him down on the table.  
  
"What are you doing?" Dr. Frau asks, shaking.  
  
"The ectoplasm will soon cover your entire body!" Trab replies, pulling a knife out from under his coat, "Now, just stay perfectly still!"  
  
Dr. Frau realizes what Trab is about to do and tries to get away, but Trab knocks him out and slams him down on the table again. He then starts to cut away at Dr. Frau's wrist, until his hand has been completely separated from his arm.  
  
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Back at the Firehouse, Winston is working on Ecto-1 with Doug.  
  
"Try it now!" Winston says, pulling his head out of the bonnet.  
  
Doug turns on the ignition and the engine starts coughing up smoke.  
  
"Oh crap!" Winston complains, covering up his mouth.  
  
"Now, now, Winston, don't swear in front of the new recruits!" Peter says, walking by holding weights.  
  
Tim is waiting for Peter by the pole. Peter hands him the weights and demands that he does nothing but work out for the next 20 minutes.  
  
"You keep at that while I get some coffee!" Peter says, before turning around and walking into the kitchen.  
  
On his way there he passes Ray, who is about to check on Ecto-1. When he sees nothing but a cloud of smoke where the car should be he starts to panic.  
  
"Ecto-1?" Ray asks, sobbing slightly.  
  
Winston and Doug start to appear from the smoke.  
  
"What have you done to Ecto-1?" Ray asks, grabbing hold of Winston.  
  
"Uh . nothing . everything's fine!" Winston replies, pushing Ray away and heading on into the kitchen, followed by Doug.  
  
Ray gives Winston a dirty look, then runs into Egon on his way upstairs.  
  
"Sorry!" Ray apologizes, then runs past him and disappears into the bathroom.  
  
After reaching the bottom of the stairs, Egon decides to have a little talk with Tim.  
  
"So, Tim, how's life been like with us so far?" he asks.  
  
"Well, it's been alright, apart from we haven't bust any ghosts yet!" Tim replies, still using the weights Peter gave him.  
  
"To be honest, we haven't had any calls for a while, but I doubt this town has run out of ghosts already!"  
  
"Hey, Egon, it's not good to bother a worker-outer when he's working out!" Peter says, pushing Egon out of the way, "Yo, Tim, try this!"  
  
Peter holds out his cup of coffee and Tim takes a sip.  
  
"Ya like that . good . now, Egon, let's go watch television!" Peter insists, trying to get him away from Iain.  
  
In the kitchen, Winston and Doug are washing their hands in the sink. Doug looks around a bit, then splashes Winston. Winston splashes Doug back. Doug wraps up a tablecloth and whips Winston's arm.  
  
"Okay, I think we've gone far enough now!" Winston says, realizing he has lost the battle.  
  
All of a sudden, Slimer appears in the front of them. Doug jumps back.  
  
"Look . a ghost . can we bust it?" he asks, hoping Winston will say 'yes'.  
  
"Sorry, not this ghost!" Winston replies, "This is Slimer, he lives with us!"  
  
"But . that doesn't make any sense . does it?" Doug asks, confused.  
  
"I would tell you the story but it's a very long one!" Winston replies, drying his hands.  
  
Slimer floats towards Doug and holds his hand out. Doug doesn't have a clue what he's doing.  
  
"I think he wants to shake your hand!" Winston says, patting Doug on the shoulder and walking out of the kitchen.  
  
Doug looks at Slimer's hand. He screws up his face, then holds out his own hand. Slimer grabs hold of it and starts shaking it up and down.  
  
"Yuck!" Doug says, pulling his hand away, "Ghost slime!"  
  
Slimer starts laughing, then floats away into the fridge. After he disappears, Doug exits the kitchen. He then sits down on the couch beside Winston, who is watching television along with Peter and Egon.  
  
"What are we watching?" Doug asks.  
  
"Some silly, no-brainer about a man who falls in love with a girl, who turns out to be a brain-sucking alien!" Egon replies, sighing.  
  
"Okay, a name would have been fine!" Doug says, putting his legs up on the little table in front of him.  
  
"Oh yes, this is the bit where Sarah sticks George's head in a vice!" Peter celebrates, moving closer to the television.  
  
Doug hears a door open then close. He takes a look up the stairs and sees Ray on his way down.  
  
"Yo, Pete, it's 9:15!" Ray says, pointing at his watch.  
  
Peter takes a look at his own watch, then jumps up and grabs his coat off the coat-hanger.  
  
"Where's he going?" Tim asks, after finishing 20 minutes of working out.  
  
"He's . uh . going to get a paper!" Ray says.  
  
Tim gives Ray a funny look, then goes upstairs to change into some different clothes.  
  
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Dr. Frau wakes up and finds himself tied to his own experiment table. The rope used to tie his arms and legs down is extremely itchy and his head seams to be lying on something extremely hot.  
  
"What is the meaning of this, Trab?" Dr. Frau asks angrily.  
  
Trab spins round on his chair and holds up Dr. Frau's severed hand. It's all green and appears to be rotting away already.  
  
"It was the ectoplasm that did this!" Trab says, dropping the hand onto the floor, "If it had reached your heart . you would be dead!"  
  
"Well, I guess I should be thankful then!" Dr. Frau says, while watching a rat take off with his hand, "Now, untie me!"  
  
Trab stands up, pulls out his knife, and starts to cut the rope around Dr. Frau's ankles. After finishing with them he cuts the rope around his wrists.  
  
"Thanks!" Dr. Frau says, getting up off the table.  
  
All of a sudden, Trab grabs him by the neck and slams him against the wall.  
  
"You do realize that anyone who betrays me gets killed, don't you?" Trab asks, poking Dr. Frau's stomach with his knife.  
  
"Yes!" Dr. Frau replies, finding it hard to breathe.  
  
Trab lets go of Dr. Frau, then pulls out the book of 'Mairee' and slams it down on the table. With a look of amazement upon his face, Dr. Frau sits down and opens the book.  
  
"Where did you find this?" Dr. Frau asks, flipping through the pages.  
  
"I found it on an old man . who paid the price for trying to keep it from me!" Trab replies, chipping away at the edge of the table with his knife.  
  
Dr. Frau gulps, then continues looking through the book. After realizing that it is not in English, he tries to think of someone who can help then decipher it.  
  
"You know, there is one person I know of who can help us!" Trab says.  
  
"Who?" Dr. Frau asks, closing the book.  
  
"A Ghostbuster . named Egon Spengler!"  
  
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The rain pours down on Peter, who is rushing to get back to the Firehouse.  
  
"I could really do with a car right about now!" he groans, trying not to drop the cardboard boxes under his jacket.  
  
After turning a corner, the Firehouse comes into view. Peter starts running faster and accidentally drops one of the boxes just before he gets inside.  
  
"Well, it's not like there's anything valuable inside!" he says, picking it up.  
  
"Yo, Peter!" Winston calls from the top of the stairs.  
  
Peter makes his way up and hands Winston one of the boxes. Winston takes a look inside and smiles.  
  
"Try not to startle him too much!" Peter says, making his way into Tim's room.  
  
"I'll try!" Winston says back, then turns round and opens the door to Doug's room.  
  
Peter looks around at all the posters of RAF jets in Tim's room, then comes to a framed-photograph of a man, a woman, and a little boy with some brown hair beginning to grow in the centre of his head. Suddenly, he hears Tim groaning.  
  
"Tim . wake up." Peter says, sitting down next to him on his bed.  
  
"Uh, what time is it?" Tim asks, sitting up.  
  
"Time for a surprise!" Peter replies, handing Tim the cardboard box.  
  
Tim opens it up and his face suddenly fills with joy. He jumps out of bed and holds the black uniform up against himself.  
  
"The logo still needs to be stitched on, but I got it in the right color didn't I?" Peter asks.  
  
"You sure did . I only wear black!" Tim replies, starting to put the uniform on.  
  
All of a sudden, Doug bursts into the room holding his uniform. Winston is standing closely behind. The two of them watch Tim as he finishes putting on his uniform.  
  
"This is so cool!" he says, posing.  
  
"Wear it to bed if you want!" Peter jokes.  
  
After remembering the framed-photograph he picks it up and ushers Winston and Doug to leave him and Tim alone. They do just that and close the door behind them.  
  
"Is this your parents?" Peter asks, pointing at the man and woman in the photo.  
  
"Yeah . but they, well, aren't alive anymore!" Tim says, taking the photo off Peter and sitting down on his bed, "Haven't you ever wondered how I got this scar on my cheek?"  
  
"I have actually!" Peter says, sitting down on the bed next to him.  
  
Tim stares at the photo for a few seconds, then begins his story.  
  
"My parents were murdered by a demon. Our house was destroyed, but I escaped with only this scar. I wanted revenge. But, how was I ever going to get it?"  
  
"So, the reason you joined us was for some revenge?" Peter asks.  
  
"And because you look really cool on television!" Tim replies, then continues his story, "After the demon disappeared I found some of my parents' money and bought a plane ticket to America. After arriving in New York I hitched a ride to Chicago and searched around for you guys, until I eventually found your HQ and realized that you were recruiting new members."  
  
"Well, if it's revenge you're looking for then you probably won't find it here. But, what the heck, I like you!" Peter says, patting Tim on the shoulder, "Now, you get a good sleep so that you're ready if we actually get a call tomorrow!"  
  
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TO BE CONTINUED . . . 


	2. Shadow of Evil

"FIRE!" yells Peter Venkman.  
  
The six Ghostbusters press down on the triggers on their proton guns and with-in a few seconds they have caught the ghost in the streams.  
  
"Got the trap ready, Doug?" asks Winston Zeddmore.  
  
"Sure do!" Doug Robbins replies, throwing the ghost trap to the ground.  
  
He then opens the trap and the ghost is sucked into it. After a few seconds of rejoicing another ghost appears from behind them. It flies over the Ghostbusters' heads and disappears into thin air.  
  
"Hey, what happened to the ghost?" Tim Freeman asks.  
  
Ray Stantz walks over to the spot where the ghost disappeared and starts sniffing the air. Suddenly, he grabs his proton gun and jumps back.  
  
"It's still here!" he says.  
  
"But where?" Egon Spengler asks.  
  
All of a sudden, a portal opens up in front of them. Gallons upon gallons of slime is spewed out and the Ghostbusters get covered in it.  
  
"Alright, I've had enough of this, let's toast this sucker!" Winston Zeddmore says, wiping slime off of the end of his proton gun.  
  
The Ghostbusters all raise their protons as they begin to hear laughter coming from inside the portal. All of a sudden, the ghost that disappeared comes flying out and is blasted by the Ghostbusters' ion beams.  
  
"Why don't you do the honors this time, Tim?" Peter asks.  
  
"Right on it!" Tim says, throwing the ghost trap to the ground below the ghost.  
  
He then opens it and the ghost is sucked in. The Ghostbusters then aim their guns at the portal, which is beginning to disappear. With-in a few seconds it has gone completely.  
  
"Well, not bad for your first bust!" Ray says to Tim and Doug.  
  
"Eat now, talk later!" Peter interrupts, noticing a café across the street.  
  
He begins making his way towards it and the other Ghostbusters soon follow. After they all sit down round one of the outside tables a waiter comes out holding a notebook and a pencil.  
  
"What can I get you, gentleman?" the waiter asks.  
  
"Uh, a couple of donuts and milkshakes will do!" Peter says before anyone else gets a chance to order anything.  
  
"Right away, sir." The waiter says, then disappears into the café.  
  
After a few minutes of waiting the Ghostbusters begin to get slightly annoyed.  
  
"That's it, I'm going in there!" Ray eventually says, getting up off his seat.  
  
"Wait a go, Ray!" Peter says, following Ray into the café.  
  
"I gotta go to the toilet!" Tim and Doug say together, following Ray and Peter.  
  
"Uh . I . uh . gotta go aswell!" Winston says, following Tim and Doug.  
  
"I'll just wait here!" Egon says to himself, folding his arms.  
  
All of a sudden, a man in black appears in front of him.  
  
"Dr. Egon Spengler?" the man in black asks, sitting down.  
  
"That's me!" Egon replies.  
  
"Delighted to meet you!" the man in black says, reaching out his hand to shake Egon's.  
  
When the two hands meet Egon suddenly feels really strange. He pulls his hand away and gets quite a shock when he notices that there's now a dart in his palm. The tranquilizer in the dart works quickly and Egon's face is in the bowl of complementary sweets in no time at all. The man in black then drags him over to Ecto-1 and dumps him in the boot. He then gets in the car himself and turns on the ignition.  
  
"Well, at least we got our stuff eventually!" Ray says, walking out of the café holding a tray full of donuts.  
  
Peter soon follows holding a tray with chocolate, strawberry, and banana- flavored milkshakes on it. After a few seconds, Winston, Tim, and Doug come out of the café aswell.  
  
"Hey, where's Egon . and Ecto-1?" Iain asks.  
  
The five Ghostbusters look towards where Ecto-1 should be and instead see an empty space.  
  
"You don't think he left us, do you?" Doug asks, taking a sip of his milkshake.  
  
"LOOK!" Winston yells suddenly.  
  
The other Ghostbusters take a look along the road and spot Ecto-1 turning a roundabout. After completing the circle Ecto-1 comes back along the road. But, instead of stopping next to the café it drives past and disappears round the corner.  
  
"Is it just me or was it not Egon who was driving?" Peter asks, slightly confused.  
  
"Someone's kidnapped him!" Tim interrupts, pulling a torn piece of black material off of one of the chair's edges.  
  
"Okay everyone, grab your proton packs cause we're going after him!" Winston says, putting his own on his back.  
  
The five Ghostbusters are soon running around the city in hope of finding Egon alive and Ecto-1 without a scratch.  
  
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}  
  
After a few hours the five Ghostbusters meet up back at the Firehouse.  
  
"This city is just too big!" Winston says, collapsing onto the floor.  
  
"That's no reason to give up!" Ray says, picking Winston up off the floor, "If we're just going to abandon Egon, then we might as well abandon each other!"  
  
"Hey, I would risk my life to save him, but there's no point in going after him unless we have an idea of where he is!" Peter says.  
  
"We need some sort of tracking device!" Doug suggests.  
  
"Do we even have something like that around here?" Tim asks.  
  
All of a sudden, Ray gets an idea. He turns around and heads down into the basement. A few seconds later, he emerges holding the new, improved PKE meter.  
  
"Now, If I can remember how to do this." he begins, fiddling around with the buttons, "This is something that Egon taught me . ha, done it!"  
  
"Done what?" Winston asks.  
  
"I've reset the meter to pick up Egon's bio-rhythms!" Ray replies, waving the PKE over his head.  
  
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Peter asks, rushing towards the doors.  
  
"Wait . it'll take us ages to finally track him down on foot." Ray says, catching up with Peter, "I've got a better idea!"  
  
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}  
  
Egon opens his eyes. He appears to be in the boot of Ecto-1, but his vision is fuzzy and he can't see properly. He tries standing up, but his legs ache so much that he can barely move them.  
  
"Who was that guy?" he asks himself, now trying to open the doors.  
  
After trying to open all of them he realizes that they must all be locked. He then results to smashing one of the windows and clambering out.  
  
"Ray's not going to be happy about that!" he says to himself as he lands on something hard.  
  
He gets up, dust himself off, and looks down at the hard thing he landed on. After realizing that it's something very long he begins to follow where it goes. After walking along slowly for a few meters, he turns a corner and gets the feeling that he's having déjà vu. All he can see are trains. Lots and lots of broken-down, rusty trains. Suddenly, one of the trains' doors opens and the man who Egon met at the café steps out onto the mucky ground.  
  
"Ah, you're finally awake, Dr. Spengler!" the man says, walking towards Egon.  
  
"Who are you? Why am I here?" Egon asks, stepping back.  
  
"I am Trab Nurb, and you are here because I need you're help in translating an ancient text!" the man replies.  
  
"What text would that be?"  
  
"Ever heard of the book of 'Mairee', Dr. Spengler?"  
  
Egon suddenly stops walking backwards. Memories of a time long ago begin flooding back into his head.  
  
"I . I studied it in High School. I wrote a paper on it, but my teacher was disgusted at the thought of anyone even thinking about reading such a book!" Egon says eventually, feeling both scared and excited at the same time.  
  
"And do you know why, Dr. Spengler?" Trab asks.  
  
"I know that it could be used to create a hell on earth if it got into the wrong hands!" Egon replies, grinning.  
  
Trab starts to get angry. He pulls the book of 'Mairee' out from under his jacket and slams Egon against the wall.  
  
"This book is a gateway to an even better life. A life where you can roam free and not be treated like you're a freak . like I am!" Trab says, letting go of Egon.  
  
"People consider you a freak?" Egon asks.  
  
Trab takes a step back and puts the book of 'Mairee' back under his jacket.  
  
"You could say I am an experiment gone horribly wrong!" Trab says, beginning to unravel the scarf covering his face.  
  
Egon gets quite a shock when he sees what Trab has been hiding. His face is all melted and only one of his eyes is in the right place.  
  
"Who did this to you?" Egon asks, feeling sympathetic.  
  
"I did!" Dr. Frau says, appearing from behind one of the trains.  
  
"After Dr. Frau created me, he realized that he had made a terrible mistake. Not only was I a freak . but I was a very harmful freak!" Trab says, beginning the story of his life, "I was going to be destroyed, but Dr. Frau found out that I was quite useful to help him with what he had been searching for his whole life - the book of 'Mairee'!"  
  
Egon takes a quick glance at what he can see of the book from inside Trab's jacket, then asks him a question.  
  
"But, what's in all this for you?" he asks.  
  
"I get a face, and a life!" Trab replies, then pulls a gun out from under his jacket, "Now, time for you to go to sleep!"  
  
He pulls the trigger and Egon is hit in the neck with a tranquilizer dart. He stumbles about for a few seconds, then collapses onto the ground.  
  
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}  
  
The hotel commissionaire stands at one side of the red carpet, staring up at the sky. He can hear a whirring sound, which appears to be getting louder. A small, blue dot appears in the sky. The commissionaire blinks a few times, then stares back up. The small, blue dot is gone. The commissionaire returns his eyes to the road and gets quite a shock when he sees a helicopter parked over at the other side.  
  
"I'd say that was your best landing yet, Ray!" Peter says, getting out of Ecto-2.  
  
The other Ghostbusters soon follow and they begin making their way across the road to the hotel. Suddenly, it starts raining. But, it's not ordinary rain . it's red rain.  
  
"This is blood!" Winston says, licking some off his finger.  
  
"Well, it was bound to happen some day!" Peter says.  
  
"According to the PKE, Egon's on the roof of the hotel." Ray says, looking up and getting his face covered in blood.  
  
The blood starts to fall more heavily, and soon, the Ghostbusters are knee- deep in it. Realizing that it probably won't be long until they drown, the Ghostbusters make their way back across the road and hop into Ecto-2.  
  
"If you can keep this thing steady then I'll give you my toenail- collection, Ray!" Peter says, patting him on the shoulder.  
  
Ray starts to feel slightly sick, but still manages to raise Ecto-2 into the air steadily. Well, as steadily as he can anyway.  
  
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}  
  
"So, Dr. Spengler, how do you like it up here?" Trab asks, watching Dr. Frau tie Egon to a crucifix.  
  
"It's rather cold, but I'll live!" Egon replies, now not being able to move.  
  
"Well, that's where you're wrong. You see, you are going to die, but it won't be painful . well, much anyway!" Trab says, laughing.  
  
Egon looks on as Trab opens a small box with the ectoplasm inside. Dr. Frau hands him a spoon and he scoops up the ectoplasm.  
  
"Is it nice . being up on a roof with a madman?" Trab asks, starting to spread the ectoplasm over his face, "I'm not mad. It's just that you people don't understand that I am simply human like you!"  
  
"You're nothing like me!" Egon says, beginning to feel woozy.  
  
"Do you say that because you are normal, while I am not? Well, I will soon be as normal as the next man."  
  
Trab throws down the spoon. Dr. Frau gets down on his hands and knees to pick it up, but is kicked in the face by Trab.  
  
"You . stay . back!" Trab says, picking up Dr. Frau and throwing him to the ground again.  
  
Dr. Frau crawls away, while Egon watches Trab as his face begins to change. His chin goes from being sloppy, to nice and rounded. His nose becomes pointy. His eyes are now less blood-shot, and his mouth becomes full of nice, shiny, white teeth. He now looks completely normal.  
  
"The book of 'Mairee' should not be used in this way." Egon says, looking on in shock, "What you have done can only lead to disaster!"  
  
"LOOK AT ME!" Trab yells in Egon's face, "LOOK WHAT THAT BOOK HAS DONE TO ME . I LOOK NORMAL . I LOOK GOOD!"  
  
"You look good on the outside, but what about the inside?"  
  
Trab ignores this and heads towards Dr. Frau, who is still recovering from being kicked in the face.  
  
"I want to thank you, Dr. Frau, for what you have done for me. You could have destroyed me all those years ago, but you gave me a chance . a chance to live . a chance to live a normal life . and for that, I thank you." Trab says, while slowly pulling a dagger out from his coat pocket.  
  
"Think nothing of it." Dr. Frau replies.  
  
"If that's the way you want it."  
  
All of a sudden, Trab whips out the dagger and stabs Dr. Frau in the stomach. Blood begins pouring down his front, creating a red puddle beneath him. Trab pulls out the dagger and Dr. Frau falls to the ground, landing facedown in the puddle of blood.  
  
"No good can come out of this!" Egon says, staring at Dr. Frau's limp body.  
  
Trab wipes the blood off the dagger and turns to Egon.  
  
"No bad can come out of this either!" Trab says, "As long as I kill you before anyone else finds out!"  
  
Trab is just about to stab Egon, when he hears a whirring sound. It seams to be coming from above. He looks up and sees something coming towards them.  
  
"The guys . they came!" Egon whispers to himself.  
  
Trab whips his head round to look at Egon again. A big smirk comes across his face, and then he begins to cut the ropes around Egon's arms and legs. After that, he dips his hands in the puddle of blood, then punches Egon in the stomach, then in the face.  
  
"Your friends find you in pain . covered in Dr. Frau's blood." Trab says, while continuously punching Egon in the face, "They then realize Dr. Frau's body, and they think that you killed him."  
  
Trab punches Egon one last time, and then makes his way towards the ledge.  
  
"They'll never think . that I . killed someone." Egon says, now with-in an inch of death himself, "It's not . in my character!"  
  
"People change, Dr. Spengler!" Trab says, then jumps off the ledge and surprisingly flies away into the sky.  
  
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}  
  
A few minutes later, Trab lands back on the ground again next to a hot dog stand. The man at the stand gets quite a shock.  
  
"Hey . you were . you were flying!" the man says, shaking.  
  
Trab turns his head round to look at the man, whose head doesn't even reach Trab's waist.  
  
"Do ya wanna . buy a hot dog?"  
  
"You're offering me a hot dog?" Trab asks.  
  
"Well . you'll have to pay for it." The man replies, holding out a hot dog.  
  
Trab grabs the hot dog and takes a bite out of it. A few seconds later, he spits it out.  
  
"I can taste!" he says, wiping his mouth.  
  
"Hey . uh . you have to pay for that now."  
  
Trab grins, then stuffs the hot dog into the man's mouth, and then grabs him by the throat and lifts him off the ground. The man waves his arms and legs about, trying to damage his attacker, but his efforts only lead to having his neck crushed. Bits of hot dog start falling out from inside the man's mouth, followed by drips of blood.  
  
"Freeze, sucker!" a voice says from behind.  
  
Trab turns his head to see a black policeman aiming a gun at him.  
  
"Drop him . now!" the policeman orders.  
  
"If you insist." Trab says, before throwing the man's dead body at the policeman, who responds by firing a few shots as it flies towards him.  
  
Soon after the third shot, the body hits him and knocks him to the ground. But, before he can get up again, Trab is gone.  
  
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}  
  
Egon opens his eyes. His fellow Ghostbusters are standing around him. As soon as Iain notices that he is awake, he grabs hold of Egon's hand and starts shaking it.  
  
"It's great to know you're not dead, Dr. Spengler!" Tim says, while shaking Egon's hand.  
  
"We got quite a scare when we found your body on that rooftop." Ray says, "We feared the worst."  
  
"Where am I anyway?" Egon asks, sitting up.  
  
"In hospital of course!" Peter replies, handing Egon his PKE meter, "I suppose you'd like to have this during your stay?"  
  
"Of course!" Egon says, taking the PKE.  
  
"What happened to you up there, Egon?" Ray asks.  
  
Egon's face suddenly goes blank.  
  
"I . I don't remember!" Egon says, after a long pause.  
  
"You don't remember what happened?" Winston asks.  
  
"No. The last thing I remember is . is trains!" Egon replies, scratching his head.  
  
The other Ghostbusters look at him oddly. A few seconds later, one of the doctors walks in.  
  
"Excuse me, but who are you gentleman?" the doctor asks.  
  
"We're the Ghostbusters!" Peter says, holding up his proton gun.  
  
The doctor gets quite a fright at the sight of the gun.  
  
"I suggest you take yourselves and those things out of this hospital . now!" the doctor says, his face going slightly pale.  
  
"Whatever the doctor orders!" Peter says, before leading his fellow Ghostbusters out of the room.  
  
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}  
  
Later on that night, Tim is alone with Egon in the sideward. The other Ghostbusters are talking to the doctor on the other side of the door. Tim and Egon can't hear what they're saying but they know that it's got something to do with Egon's condition.  
  
"Is there something you're not telling me, Dr. Spengler?" Tim asks, while looking at Egon's PKE at the same time.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about, Tim." Egon replies, "And call me Egon."  
  
Egon smiles and Tim smiles back.  
  
"What do you think the trains mean?" Tim asks.  
  
"All I can remember about them is that there were a lot of them!" Egon replies, scratching his arm where it itches, "I have no idea what they mean though."  
  
"What do you remember before the trains?"  
  
"I was locked in Ecto-1. I had to smash one of the windows to get out. I then followed something that led to trains. A man wearing black calling himself . calling himself . I can't remember!"  
  
"Do you remember anything else after this man in black?"  
  
"Yeah. We talked for a while about a book. A man wearing a white lab-coat came out of one of the trains. The two of them seamed to be old friends. Then . then the man in black . he . he shot me, and I blacked out . that's all I can remember!"  
  
Tim stares at Egon for a few seconds, until the other Ghostbusters enter the sideward.  
  
"The doctor says that you'll be out of here by tomorrow night." Ray says, sitting down on Egon's bed.  
  
"What you have is a little bit of amnesia, that's all." Winston says.  
  
"Well, it'll be great to be getting back to studying the paranormal again." Egon says, sitting up in his bed.  
  
"I'll bet!" Peter says, yawning.  
  
"Egon says that he remembers being confronted by a man in black before he blacked out, but he can't remember his name." Tim says, while fiddling around with the PKE meter at the same time.  
  
"Did you see his face?" Doug asks.  
  
"I saw what looked like something a cat had spit up!" Egon replies.  
  
"There's quite a lot of people who look like that in this town." Peter says, patting Egon on the shoulder, "All we have to do is ask all of them if they remember blacking out a scientist!"  
  
The other Ghostbusters exchange looks.  
  
"Okay, bad idea." Peter says, getting the message.  
  
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}  
  
It is now the middle of the night, and Tim is still alone with Egon in the sideward. Egon has fallen asleep and Tim feels like he's about to aswell. He lays his head on Egon's shoulder and closes his eyes. Just then, the PKE meter starts going haywire. Tim gets such a shock that he jumps up, almost hitting the roof. After recovering from the shock, he picks up the PKE and tries to figure out what's happening to it. There doesn't seam to be any way to turn it off and things get even worse when the entire room is filled with a bright, yellow light. Tim shields his eyes as the light gets even brighter. A large, white figure starts to appear in the centre of the room. Tim takes a step backwards, trips over a small chair, and hits the ground with a thud. The white figure starts to advance on him. The closer it gets, the more clearer it's face becomes. Before long the white figure has engulfed the entire room, and it's face becomes as clear as the light of day. Tim stares into it's eyes. It stares right back. And then, Tim lets out a terrified scream.  
  
{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}  
  
Egon wakes up with a startle to find Tim shaking around on the floor, screaming. His screams are of pure fear. His face a pure white. Egon jumps out of bed and tries to wake him up, but he starts shaking around even more and his screams become louder and even more terrifying.  
  
"Come on, Tim, wake up." Egon says, trying his best to waken the shaken Ghostbuster.  
  
After trying for so long to wake him up with speech, Egon eventually decides to fill a plastic cup with cold water and to pour it all over Tim's face. After doing this, he calms down and is soon awake.  
  
"Are you alright?" Egon asks, helping Tim up off the ground.  
  
Tim doesn't say anything. He is still very shaken and as white as the figure that attacked him in his dream.  
  
"Did you have a bad dream?" Egon asks, "What happened?"  
  
Tim stares down at the ground, then looks Egon straight in the eyes. And, for the briefest of moments, Egon felt as if he was looking at himself as a boy. He couldn't understand why, but that's what he saw.  
  
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TO BE CONTINUED. 


End file.
